Root Veg Tabbouleh
Serves 4
Tabouleh is usually made in the summer with cucumber and tomatoes but there's nothing worse than rock hard tomatoes in winter. This is a great wintery version of a classic dish and an interesting way to use up your root vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 220°C and get to work on your root vegetables. They should be cut into 15mm cubes. Add to this mix the onion and celery, which should be cut into similar sized pieces.
In a large bowl, toss the vegetables with half of the spices, a little salt and pepper and just enough oil to cover them. If you are using beetroots keep them separated as they will dye everything purple, season them in the same way as the other vegetables.
Place the cubed vegetables on one or more baking trays, no more than one layer deep to prevent them from steaming and getting mushy. Again, if you are using beetroots, you can put them on the same tray as the other vegetables but keep them to one end of the tray.
Cook for 30-45 mins or until the vegetables are soft and showing signs of caramelisation.
You will need to check every 15 mins and give them a little stir to prevent them from getting too dark. About half-way through the cooking, add the passata checking that all the vegetables are evenly coated.
In the meantime give the bulgur wheat a good wash in a sieve and shake it dry; it will have absorbed enough water to swell. If you can only get medium bulgur it should sit in cold water for 3 minutes before it is put in the sieve.
Make the dressing by combining the oil, lemon juice, the rest of the spices.
When the vegetables have cooled down mix them with the bulgur, the dressing and the roughly chopped herbs.
Ingredients
85g fine bulgar wheat
400g in total of cubed root vegetables e.g potatoes, carrots, celeriac, swedes, beetroots and parsnips
1 large onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
150ml of tomato passata.
2 bunches of flat leaf parsley
1 small bunch of coriander
1 small bunch of mint
1/4 Tsp ground allspice
1/2 Tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tsp ground
coriander seeds
3 Tbsp olive oil plus a little for roasting root vegetables
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Tip
Fresh pomegranate seeds make a lovely addition to the salad and if you can get hold of pomegranate molasses you can use that in the dressing instead of the lemon juice.
This is a very adaptable recipe, feel free to experiment using different vegetables and pulses such as chickpeas.
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